The U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates for a sixth time since last June, as policymakers continued efforts of gradually lifting borrowing costs to ward off inflation.
The unanimous decision by the U.S. central bank’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee raises its target for the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, by a quarter-point to 2.5 percent.
In a statement issued after a two-day meeting, Fed officials retained an assessment that economic risks were balanced between slower growth and rising prices, saying it thought it could keep raising rates at a “measured” pace.
Analysts believe the Fed will continue to push the funds rate up in quarter-point increments through most of this year.
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